How incredibly stupid. The newly appointed Met Council Chair has fired the best General Manager in Metro Transit’s history and replaced him with someone who has no transit background. What? The CEO sets the tone for the organization. I know how important a good general manager is to this transit system because I served under […]
Dealing with a driver shortage, and a budget deficit Few people set out to be bus drivers. They select the job because the pay and benefits are good, even though the working hours tend to be inconvenient. So when unemployment is low, Metro Transit has difficulty recruiting enough drivers to offset retirements, let alone grow […]
Normally this report would have coincided with the August schedule change, but there wasn’t much to tell at the time, only that Route 71 from Little Canada to Inver Grove Heights was simplified by eliminating a couple of low use terminals. Things have perked up since then, so here we go! New bus garage coming […]
Nearly half of bus stops in the Twin Cities metro area are inaccessible, both for able-bodied riders and those with physical challenges.
On-time performance is critical to the success of all scheduled public transit. Assuming that speeds are competitive, fares are reasonable, service frequencies are convenient, the vehicles are clean and safe and the staff is customer friendly, the level of on-time performance can make or break ridership. The customer needs confidence that the bus or train […]
The June 6 schedule change includes some noteworthy improvements, both permanent and temporary. Route 4 Johnson Street NE-New Brighton reroute All Route 4G New Brighton buses will use 39th Avenue instead of 37th Avenue between Stinson Blvd. and Silver Lake Road. This is a classic case of diverting a route to access more traffic generators. […]
Aiming to speed up bus trips on busy Hennepin Avenue, Metro Transit and the City of Minneapolis are trying bus-only lanes. Can they work long term?
Bit by bit, computer technology is demystifying the unavoidably complex Twin Cities transit system. Say you’re on the bus but your trip requires a transfer and you’re unsure when the connection will arrive. You can look it up on your smart phone, but wouldn’t it be nice if an on-bus display just teed it up […]
There’s little to report about the March service change, mostly fine tuning. That’s not surprising, considering it follows a major effort to beef up service for the Super Bowl. The only change of note is the rerouting of eastbound express routes 294, 350, 351, 361 and 364 from downtown St. Paul via the 6th Street […]
Buses return to Nicollet Mall Once again it’s a pretty quiet schedule change, mostly putting the buses back on Nicollet Mall. Returning from exile on Hennepin Avenue are Routes 10, 11, 17, 18, 25 and 59. The detours worked operationally, but caused substantial ridership reductions, so hopefully riders will return over the next year or […]